For the Love of Lorien
by StitchedHeart
Summary: A series of one-shots (or maybe two-shots) of Lorics, many different couples
1. Chapter 1: Near Miss

**This is my first fic, please review and tell me what I could do to improve!**

 **Disclaimer: I obviously (and sadly) do not own the Lorien Legacies, or any characters from the book, etc.**

 **Eight**

Nine was struggling on the ground, trying to find a way to escape Five's telekinetic hold, and avoid the surely fatal blow from his sword, which was getting closer every millisecond. In that split second, I make possibly the worst choice of my life and teleport in between Nine and Five, the blade entering my abdomen with a sickening _squelch_ and an amount of pain I hadn't thought possible. I fall to the floor, and the last thing is see before passing out is Marina.

" _Marina…"_

I hadn't told her. I loved her, and now I was going to die without telling her.

" _Marina…"_

Blackness clouded my vision, and I had one last thought, and I forced myself to say it, even as a whisper. Anything to know that I told her.

" _I love you."_

 **Marina**

" _I love you."_

It was barely a whisper, but I heard it anyway, although Eight was far away. Almost like he had whispered it directly into my ear. I snapped out of my shock and ran as fast as I could towards Eight, praying to whatever Lorien gods there were that I could save him.

 _I can heal him. Please. Just hold on, Eight. I love you. You can't die. Please._

In his shock and surprise, Five's invisible hold on me had disappeared. Now, as he saw me running towards Eight, he shook his head and ran to intercept me.

 _No._

With more anger than I had ever had, even when Adelina had rejected and ignored me, I screamed.

As I did so, the temperature dropped to below zero in seconds. Hundreds of spikes of ice of different sizes formed, and pointed towards Five. They all sped towards him, but in mid-flight changed shaped to create an inescapable prison for Five.

 _A new legacy!_

The thought didn't matter, and only flickered into my head for a second before I once again ran towards Eight.

 _Please, please, please…_

I landed on my knees beside him, tears pouring down my face, looking for even the slightest sign of life.

 _There._ A breath. I almost collapsed and sobbed in joy, but I had to heal him. _Now, before it's to late._ I lifted his shirt - my healing worked better and faster with direct contact - and placed my hands on his cold chest, feeling a different kind of cold than the one I just shot at Five flowing from my fingers to Eight.

"Marina, don't! You can come with me! You'll know it's the right thing to do! Eight was just an accident. He doesn't care about you! I do. I'm better for you, you won't even care about him when we're together. Come with me, Marina!" Five yelled from his ice prison as Eight writhed in pain under my hands.

"You bastard," I hissed. "How dare you?! I love Eight, and I will kill you!" I yelled, staring at Eight's beautiful face contorted in pain. Although I may have imagined it, I thought I saw Eight smile through the pain for a second when I said I loved him.

Finally, Eight lay still, breathing steadily, his face relaxed, but still unconscious. I looked around, scanning for more dangers, and spotted Six, still unconscious and bleeding from her head and Nine, slumped against the tree. Although I didn't want to leave Eight's side, I ran to heal Six, promising myself that there was no danger. _He'll be fine._

As soon as I finished with Six, I ran to Nine, realizing he was fine and conscious, simply exhausted.

 _Wait._

I looked at Nine's face again, and could not believe what I saw. Nine was _crying._ Silent tears rolled down his face and into his shirt.

"Nine? Are you-"

"I'm so sorry, Marina," he said, curling into himself. "I'm so stupid. I couldn't take a hint, and I got Eight killed for it. Marina," he gasped, "Please never forgive me ever again."

To stunned by his sudden proclamation to tell him that Eight was in fact, alive, I silently grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

"Marina?" he asked, confused.

In response, I simply pulled him to where Eight was laying, tears again springing into my eyes as I thought of how close he had been to dying.

"Oh my god," Nine said, landing on his knees beside Eight. "He's alive! Thank Pittacus! He's alive!" He screamed so loud that Six woke, and walked to stand next to us.

The first words out of her mouth are words I will find funny for the rest of my life. "Is Nine… _crying_?"

And in that moment, I laugh, and I know we will be fine.

 _As soon as Eight wakes up,_ I correct myself. _Then I will be fine._

 **Eight**

I open my eyes slowly, and blink a few times, to get rid of the blurriness.

 _Aren't I supposed to be dead?_ I think. Then I remember. _Marina._ She must have healed me. I finally focus on where I am. Someone is carrying me as they walk. I look up, and see the underside of someone's head. _Who…?_ Oh, damn. That's embarrassing. Nine's carrying me. As I realize this, I give a yelp and tumble out of Nine's arms… and onto the floor. After a moment of sitting on the floor with everyone - being Nine, Six, and Marina - staring at me, I stand up, reconsidering teleporting since we are on a busy-ish street, and a kid disappearing into thin air is not an everyday sight.

"What?" I say after a long while, since no one has moved since I woke except to turn and stare at me, their mouths agape.

Nine is the first to speak. "Finally! I thought I would have to carry you for years!" he says, a smile - an actual smile, not a sarcastic, cocky smile - breaking out on his face, clapping me on the shoulder.

Six surprises me next by wrapping me up in a hug. She pulls back after a moment, also smiling. "Good to see you awake, Eight." There are even _tears_ in her eyes. I never thought I'd see the day Six cried, much less be the _cause_ of those tears.

Throughout all this, Marina stands off to the side, hands covering her mouth, so that it almost looks like praying, and a tear rolling down her cheek.

I look at her, confused. Is she mad to see me awake? What could I have done? The last thing I remember is teleporting between Nine and Five. Then, nothing. I try to remember, to no avail.

"Marina?" I ask cautiously, tilting my head. "What's wrong, Mar?" Instinctively, I look down at my ankle, pulling my pants up and seeing the familiar scars in the shapes of Loric numbers one, two, and three. Nothing new there. _What could be bothering her?_ We continue to stare at each other for a few more seconds, while I try to figure out how to comfort her. _It wasn't me, was it?_ This thought repeats itself in my head, making it hard to think. Six and Nine stand awkwardly to the side shifting their weight from leg to leg.

Nine whispers to Six, and I hear it. "I'll bet you fifty she kisses him," he says quietly.

"Deal," Six whispers back.

 _Kisses me?_ Before I have time to think of what Nine meant by that, Marina lets out a sob and wraps her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. I stroke her hair softly, now even more confused. "What's wrong, Marina?" I ask, trying to lean back to see her face.

She shudders and presses her face against my chest again. "You," came the muffled response.

 _Me? I'm wrong?_ I think, frowning and removing myself from Marina's embrace.

 **Marina**

I feel Eight tense and pull back, and quickly rephrase. "No! I didn't mean it like that." Eight relaxes again but still pulls away.

"What did you mean?" he asks softly, just like Eight would. _My Eight._ It startles me that I think of him like that, and it must show on my face because he quickly adds "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

I shake my head, smiling, as he scratches the back of his neck. Six and Nine have long gone to reserve a hotel room, so I don't care about them overhearing. "After you got stabbed by Five, I thought you were going to die," I say, pausing to watch his reaction.

"I don't remember anything after I teleported," he says, and my smile fades. _He doesn't remember saying he loves me?_

"Well," I continue, albeit a bit more shakily. "I tried to heal you, but Five got in the way," I say, recalling his horrible words. ' _He doesn't care about you. I do. Come with me, Marina.'_ I make a face. "I trapped him in an ice cage," I say, glad I finally got a fighting legacy.

Eight stares at me. "What?"

"I trapped him in an ice cage," I repeat.

"You got a new legacy? That's awesome!" he says, looking a little distant and angry with… something. Himself, maybe? _Me?_ I hope not.

I look down. _I should tell him, shouldn't I?_ I sigh, looking down. "Youalsosaidyouloveme," I mumble quickly.

"What?"

I take a deep breath, hoping he hadn't just said it in a pain-induced delusion. "You said you love me," I say more slowly, squeezing my eyes shut. I expect him to deny it immediately, or at least say something to prove he hadn't meant it.

My eyes still shut, I feel his hand softly pushing some hair out of my face. I don't open my eyes. I don't want to see his pity, and I don't want him to see the tears in my eyes.

 **Eight**

"Marina," I say, but I can tell she's shut my voice out. She doesn't want to be rejected. _My innocent, sweet Marina._ "I meant it, Marina. Even if I don't remember it, I meant it." I say, scanning her face for any sign of acknowledgement. She seems to still be shutting me out, but I think I see her lips twitch. I sigh, knowing she won't listen to anything I say until I do something. So I do. I pull her head up, bend my head down, lips connecting with hers.

 **Marina**

I feel Eight pulling my head up, and then his lips on mine. I gasp against his lips, and move my arms around his neck. Through my clothes, I feel the heat of his hands at my waist and goosebumps tickle my skin where ever he touches. I feel guilty for not listening to what he was saying, so I ask when he pulls back. "What were you saying before you kissed me?" I ask, my arms still around his neck.

He laughs softly, and I feel his warm breath on my lips. I resist the urge to kiss him again. "I said I meant it, Marina. Even if I don't remember saying it, I meant it," he says, pausing and taking a reassuring breath. "I love you, Marina. I loved you since the day I met you. You were a wonderful person, always so kind, even to Five," he says. I stare in stunned silence. "I felt like an absolute moron whenever I talked to you, or even saw you. And the years by myself in the mountain didn't help either," he admits, scratching the back of his neck.

"I love you too, Eight, and I always will." I whisper, kissing him again. When we part, he has the possibly biggest smile in the world.

"We should probably catch up to Six and Nine, right? They're going to think we were taken by Mogs," he says, the smile still in place.

"Yes, we should." I say, finding his smiling contagious. We walk hand in hand towards the hotel.

 **Nine**

Okay, so Six and I were watching the entire time, invisible. "You owe me fifty bucks," I whisper to Six.

"No, I don't." She say smugly.

"And why, pray tell, do you not?"

"Because you bet _Marina_ would kiss _him_. I bet that _Eight_ would kiss _her._ " She says, smirking at me.

"Damn it!" I yell, catching the attention of said couple.

Both me and Six become visible again, grinning sheepishly as I take out my wallet.

Eight laughed, and Marina looked confused, then rolled her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2: Truth or Dare (Part 1)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Lorien Legacies, obviously, 'cause if I did Eight would** _**so**_ **not be dead…**

 **Hope you like the story! R & R, please!**

 **Btw, my favorite LL couple is Navrina, so there's probably going to be a lot in there, (and for the purposes of this fic, Eight and Marina aren't together yet, and this is before Fall of Five) but….**

 **I know this story was previously going to only different ways Eight could have survived, but I figured that was going to be slightly boring, so instead, I'm also going to include other one-shots/two-shots.**

 **Marina**

Today was _supposed_ to be a day like any other day. I woke early to cook breakfast for everyone, Eight joining me a little later to help. After breakfast, Nine brought us all - being John, Six, me, Eight, Sarah, and Nine himself - to the living room of our new hidden house in the middle of nowhere, where I supposed we would start training, but instead, we were met with this surprise…

"Okay, guys, we're going to play truth or dare," he says, smirking. I stare at him confused.

At the same time, Six and Eight say "What's truth or dare?" I've heard of it, some of the girls from the convent played it, so I have a basic idea.

After Nine explains it, plus the added rule that if you can't complete a truth/dare, you have to take off a piece of clothing. _Oh no,_ I think. _This is not going to end well._

Nine starts. "Johnny, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who do you like most out of all the people here, in a romantic way?"

John glares at Nine and takes off his shirt. "Eight, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to jump off a telephone pole, shapeshift into something small, and teleport on top of Marina's head right before you land."

Eight rolls his eyes, but heads outside and teleports onto a telephone pole. We all stare at him, me with worry, as he jumps and dives, disappearing millimeters before he would have hit the ground. I feel two pairs of soft paws on my head, and laugh. I lift him in puppy form off my head, and he licks my face. We all walk back inside, where Eight looks like he considers shapeshifting back, but then doesn't. Instead, he looks at John.

"He says he doesn't want to shift back," he says, laughing. "He says he's comfortable," he says as Eight curls up on my lap. I laugh and stroke his fur as I blush, and Sarah giggles.

"He says to ask Six truth or dare," Nine says. I forgot he also has animal telepathy.

"Dare," she says.

John's eyes widen. He must have heard the dare. "He dares Six to make out with John for thirty seconds," Nine says, pausing and staring at Eight. "In front of Sarah," he adds.

Six groans, and rolls her eyes, but I think I see a bit of a blush on her face. "I'll do it if you're good with it," she says.

John nods hesitantly, glancing at Sarah, who is currently glaring daggers at Eight. I felt a strange surge of protectiveness and hugged Eight close to my chest, and he purred. _Purred?_ I looked down, and Eight had transformed into a somehow adorable mix of puppy and kitten. I laughed and looked back up at Six and John, who were now kissing. They stopped five seconds early, and Six grinned evilly. _Oh, boy._

"Marina, truth or dare?" she said sweetly. If it came from anybody else, it would have sounded nice. From Six, it sounded like she was going to murder someone.

"Dare," I said. I didn't want to wimp out. Either way, I knew she was going to do something horrible.

"I dare you to sit…" she said, pausing for effect. "On Eight's lap for the rest. Of. The. Game."

Heat flushed my face, and Eight teleported out of my arms and onto the sofa, next to me - in human form. I considered. Which was worse? Taking off my shirt, where I only had my bra underneath, or sitting on Eight, who I happened to have a massive crush on?

Before I had a chance to decide, Eight pulled me on top of him, smiling, which in turn caused me to blush even more. I must admit, I like our position at this moment. Me on his lap, his chin on my shoulder, and his arms wrapped around my waist.

"Okay, Nine, truth or dare?" I ask.

"Dare," he replies.

I think of the best dare I could do without being mean. "I dare you to sit on the ceiling for the rest of the game, no coming down. At all." I say, smiling. Eight laughs behind me, and I feel his warm breath on my neck.

 **Eight**

As I laugh, goosebumps appear on Marina's skin. I love that I have that effect on her. When Marina got the dare from Six, I could tell she wasn't going to do it, probably thinking that I would be uncomfortable, but she doesn't know that I like her. Like, _like_ like her. A lot. So, instead, I simply pulled her onto me.

Nine rolled his eyes and walked up the wall and sat on the ceiling directly above us all. "Sarah, truth or dare?"

"Truth,"

"Did you turn John and Sam in to the Mogs?" Six interrupts.

"It's Nine truth," she says, avoiding the question. This statement makes John raise an eyebrow, then lower it just as quickly, but I saw it. _Does he doubt Sarah?_ That is a BIG no in a relationship.

"Think about the best kiss you ever had. Who was it with?" Nine asks, glancing at John.

Instead of answering, Sarah pulls her shirt over her head, not looking at John. Surprisingly, Sarah is not as skinny as she looks. She wears clothes that make her look like it, and judging by John's expression, he didn't know either.

Marina is very light, so I hardly even notice her weight on my legs. And, it feels… I don't know to describe it. It feels _natural_ to have Marina so close to me, her back against my chest.

Sarah, still avoiding John's gaze, says to me: "Truth or dare, Eight?"

"Dare," I reply nervously. She might take her revenge out on me.

"Seven minutes in heaven with… Six." she says. Marina tenses, her ever-present smile fading a bit. I raise my eyebrows at Sarah.

"Sorry, Six, but you'd kill me." I say. To Marina, I say "Could you stand up for a sec?" When she does, I remove my shirt. As I deny the dare, Marina seems to relax again. _Could she like me, like I like her?_

 **Marina**

Eight frowns, seeming confused.

"Damn right I would," says Six, glaring at Sarah.

"Alright, Marina, truth or dare?" Eight asks, his confusion gone.

"Truth," I reply, suspicious.

"Who do you have the biggest crush on in this room?" he asks. _Shoot._ I can't tell him that it's him, that would be awkward.

"I, uh…" I answer stupidly. Instead of making more of a fool of myself, I just pull my shirt over my head, and don't look Eight in the eye. As I lean back, Eight seems a little more hesitant to put his arms around me, and I am hyper aware of Eight's toned chest pressed against my now bare back. I look towards Eight, and am surprised by what I see. He seems… disappointed. _I wonder why?_

"John, truth or dare?" I ask, looking away from Eight.

"Truth."

"Wed, bed, or dead me, Six, or Sarah?" I ask, actually wondering what the answers would be.

Sarah glares daggers at me, then John, almost as if saying: 'If you don't pick me, I'll make you regret it,'

"Wed Sarah," he begins, almost nervously. "Bed Six, and, sorry, Marina, dead you. I honestly might be more afraid of Eight than Six if I bedded you," he says, and I raise my eyebrows. _More afraid of Eight than Six? What's that supposed to mean?_

I am snapped out of my thoughts when John speaks again. "Nine, T or D?"

"Dare."

"Kiss Marina," comes the simple response. Eight's arms tense around me, and I widen my eyes.

"No offense, Nine, bu-" I begin to say as John interrupts me.

"I wasn't done," John says. "If Marina refuses…" I can't hear anything else as John whispers into Nine's ear.

"Okay," says Nine, smirking.

I have a feeling that whatever would happen if I refused is much worse, so I let Nine kiss me. And, no offense to Nine, but I have to say, both of my kisses with Eight were better.

When we part, I ask John what the other dare would have been.

"Seven minutes in heaven with Nine, no refusing," he replies.

 **Eight**

As I watched Nine kiss Marina, even I couldn't believe the surge of anger and jealousy I felt. And, from my point of view, she seemed to enjoy it. Scratch Marina liking me.

As they part, Ella walks in. She had gone on a walk, which was relatively safe here. Besides, she could alert us with her telepathy. Also, unfortunately for us, her telepathy allowed her to read minds and sense emotions. Speaking of sensing emotions…

As Ella walked into the living room, she clasped her hands to her head. "Oh, Eight, dial it down, please. Way too much right there."

"Sorry, Ella," I muttered. Of course, I knew what she was talking about, but everybody else looked between Ella and me in confusion. Except for Sarah. Damn, sometimes I wish that girl wasn't here. Not to be a horrible and rude person, but she was human, after all. She couldn't come to Lorien, and she couldn't help us win the war. She was just another liability.

 **Marina**

"Eight's jealous!" Sarah sang, smirking at him. _What? Jealous of who?_ My confusion must have shown on my face, because Sarah continued. "He's _sooo_ jealous of you and Nine!" she said in an increasingly annoying voice. I don't know how John can stand her, much less love her, if she's constantly acting this way. But then again, I barely know her.

"Right, okay, Eight, truth or dare?" Nine asks, breaking the awkward silence.


	3. Chapter 3: Truth or Dare (Part 2)

**Thank you for all the reviews! I know the chapters are short, but they seem a lot longer while I'm writing them, so I hope you're not terribly disappointed. I'll try to update weekly, but if I don't I'll update ASAP. If you'd like me to focus on other couples (which I will, eventually) please let me know.**

 **I hope you enjoy this second part of truth or dare! I am so sorry that it's so short, but I had a ton of work to do and haven't had time to write.**

 **Nine**

"Dare," Eight responds, glaring at Sarah, when I'm startled by Ella in my mind.

 _That's not all,_ Ella somehow manages to sound smug in my head. _He also says that if you say one word or do anything regarding Sarah's statement, he'll bash your head in._ Oh, interesting. What fun to be had, I think as I smile, probably looking like a lunatic…

"I dare you to do… seven minutes in heaven with Marina," I say. This is my way of helping. I feel Ella's confusion in my mind. _Yes, I can be a genuinely nice person sometimes. But it usually doesn't last long,_ I think, smirking.

"Come on, hurry up," comes John's teasing voice.

"Ok-kay," Marina stammers, standing and looking at Eight with uncertainty. After a second, Eight nods and follows Marina out of the room, his face expressionless.

"Let's keep playing. This could take a while," Ella says, and I laugh. The others look surprised and amused. _Who knew she had such a dirty mind…_

Her response only makes me laugh harder. _It's your fault, Nine._

 **Marina**

As we head towards my room, Eight doesn't say a word. _What is up with him? Is he really jealous, like Sarah said?_ "Eight, are you okay?" I ask. "You know you can tell me anything, right? What's wrong?"

Eight smiles, but I can tell it's forced. "I know. Nothing's wrong, I promise."

I open the door to my room, sitting on the bed after pulling on a shirt. "You're lying, I can tell." I say gently, motioning for him to sit beside me. I shut the door with telekinesis as Eight sits on the edge of the bed uncomfortably. He sighs, shoulders drooping.

"It's just… I… It's nothing," he mumbles.

"Eight…" I say accusingly.

Instead of answering, he looks at the clock above my door. "We have about six more minutes in here. What do you want to do?"

"You're changing the subject," I say, grabbing his hand. "What is it?"

"I said it's nothing," he says angrily pulling his hand away and standing, pacing, not looking me in the eye.

I hesitate, knowing very well my next question could humiliate me completely. "Was Sarah right?" I whisper, standing. He tenses, not responding. "Eight?" I walk in front of him, placing my hands on his chest to stop him from moving. His emerald eyes watched me intensely, a hurricane of emotions in them - diminishing anger, softness, and something else - an indistinguishable emotion.

"Maybe," he whispers, turning away. "But it doesn't matter."

"Eight-" I begin to speak but he interrupts me.

"Don't. Please, just… don't. I don't want to hear it." he mutters, sitting on the bed, looking down. "We have four more minutes."

I sigh, knowing he won't listen to me anyways. I sit next to him, and he doesn't look up. "Eight…" I begin slowly. "Joseph, look at me." Surprised by the last name that he had taken on Earth, he looks up, eyes wide. "It does matter," I whisper. I lift my hand to his shoulder, trailing it to his cheek. Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss him. Just a fast, soft peck before I pull away, looking for his reaction. He grins, bad mood completely forgotten.

"Hey, Marina…" he says slowly, his voice husky, and his eyes flicker to my lips for the smallest second.

"Yes?" I whisper, my eyes never leaving his jade ones.

"You know, we still have a few minutes…" he trails off, leaning forward, pausing just before his lips meet mine.

"Yes, we do." I say, leaning forward to capture his lips in mine.


	4. Chapter 4: Soulmates (Part 1)

**Disclaimer: This goes for all chapters, just in case I forget. Again. I don't own Lorien Legacies!**

 **I'm sorry for the constant POV switches, but I find it helpful. Also, the story would be much less interesting and much harder to write without them.**

 **Also, to try and make up for the (super) short previous chapter, I'll make this one longer. Enjoy!**

 **!Notes/Important for the story!:** **Marina and Eight didn't meet on the mountain. Six, Ella, and Mar went to Nine's penthouse without him, Eight met up with John and Nine and got there after.**

 **Hope that makes sense! It's been a while since I read it.**

 **Marina**

 _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree…_

I hear a despairing, heartbroken voice of a boy inside my head, and cry out, immediately clapping a hand over my mouth. We're in mass, and Sister Dora turns and glares at me. I'm so going to get paddled after this. The singing voice again penetrates my thoughts.

 _They strung up a man_

 _They say who murdered three…_

The voice pauses, disappearing for a moment. Strangely enough, when it leaves, I feel more alone than before.

 _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be…_

The voice continues, sadder than before, and cracking every other word. What on Earth, Lorien, and Mogadore is this? Why in the galaxies do I have a boy singing in my head? And it won't stop, either! Not that I mind. It's so beautiful and tender.

 _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree…_

Why is there a boy in my head? How… Oh. My. Lore. Adelina… Adelina told me about this once. Well, before Adelina became Adelina and we got to the convent. That means… this boy's voice in my head… whoever it belongs to is my… _soulmate._ My _one Loric love._

 **Eight**

" _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree…"_ I sing sadly, holding Reynolds' cold, dead hand. Around us are piles of ash, all that remains of the Mogs that ambushed us, and killed Reynolds. I'll get them. I'll make them pay, for Reynolds, for One, Two, Three, and the rest of Lorien. I'll murder each and every one of them.

" _Where the dead man called out_

 _For his love to flee…"_ this is the saddest song Reynolds ever taught me, and the only one I can remember. Now, I sing it in honor of him, and as a promise. A promise to never love, and destroy Setrakus Ra.

" _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be…"_ I teleport with Reynolds to a river nearby. Reynolds once told me that his favorite thing about Lorien was the rivers and oceans. It seems fitting that he stay there forever. With my enhanced strength, I lift him and set him down softly in the river, tears pouring down my face the entire time. I watch him float gently down the river until he's out of sight. As soon as I can't see him, I collapse to my knees, sobbing, still singing.

" _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree_

 _Are you, are you…"_

 **YEARS LATER**

 **Marina**

It's years until I hear the voice again. Well, to be exact, 1817 days, but who's counting? I don't know why I care so much, but I do. I mean, aside from the fact that the owner of the voice is my soulmate, why is it so important to me?

 _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree_

 _Where I told you to run…_

It's so soft, beautiful… and sad. Both times I've heard it, it's been sad. _I wonder what happened?_ It's so tempting to sing with him. All those years ago, when I first heard him sing, as soon as I had free time after mass, I went to one of the computers and searched up the song. I now know the entire song by heart. As he continues to sing, I join in.

" _So we'd both be free…"_

He stops abruptly, apparently having heard me. I suppose the connection goes both ways. I continue, scanning the cave walls quickly. I see eight paintings, three of which are blacked out. I had drawn One, Two, and Three, and when they died, I covered them. They were too painful to look at.

" _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be…"_

There are also five more paintings - a tanned boy with bright, kind blue eyes and wavy blond hair, who I think must be Number Four. Another boy, built like a barrel, with short dark hair, and dark eyes, anger shadowing his face, must be Five. Beside him, a gorgeous girl with stormy grey eyes, olive skin, and long black hair - Six. I skipped myself, so next to Six is a tiny girl, of seven or eight, with soft auburn hair, and innocent brown eyes. Sweet, little Eight. I suddenly felt so sad that such a young little girl had to be a part of our war. Next to her, is a tall boy with long, shaggy, black hair, dark eyes, and an overconfident smirk on his face. He must be Nine. Strangely, even though all six remaining elders - minus me - up on the cave walls, I feel as though someone is missing.

" _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree…"_

I study each painting carefully, trying to figure out who could be my soulmate. None seem to attract my attention, or seem to call out to me. I don't even know if I'd be able to tell, if I saw him. I know it has to be one of these, either the bright-eyed Four, angry Five, or the smirk-confident Nine.

" _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree…"_

I continue to sing, exiting the cave, as _he_ starts to sing again with me. I walk down the snowy trail, a smile on my face.

" _Wear a necklace of hope…"_

As I walk, I begin to feel dizzy, but I brush it off as a sudden reaction to the cold and bright light. Soon though, it gets worse, but I continue my long trek through the woods. Maybe Adelina can help…

My vision begins to narrow, and I trip over something, to dizzy and confused to get up. A few seconds later, I black out.

 _Side by side with me…_

 **Eight**

A girl. In my head. Singing. Just… what? How? I can't even think. She's singing our song. Mine and Reynolds. And, apparently, she can hear me too. I wonder if she heard me when Reynolds died. Probably. Wonderful. Some random girl heard me singing a song about _hanging_ and _murderers._ As I start to sing with her again, I get the impression that this is not some random girl. She will be someone important to me. I'm brought out of my thoughts by her sudden change in her voice. It's much quieter, and soon, it cuts off entirely. I hope she's alright. I continue, hoping she can still hear me.

" _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be_

 _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree…"_

I wonder what happened to her? When her voice first appeared in my head, I fell out of my hammock in shock. _Her voice is so beautiful,_ I mused in my head, smiling.

" _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree_

 _Where I told you to run…"_

I get up, brushing dust off my pants. I hope I meet her someday. But until then…

" _So we'd both be free…"_

 **YEARS LATER (AGAIN)**

 **Marina**

I sit on one of the multiple couches of Nine's penthouse, talking with Ella and Six as we wait for John and Nine to come back from their mission of recruiting Eight, who is apparently not Ella.

"Okay, so, Ella, you are Ten, and came on a seperate ship," Six says, massaging her temples.

"Yes," Ella repeats for the millionth time today.

"And you're not Eight." I state.

"Right."

"Strange…" I mumble, looking down. "I could've sworn I got all of us…" I mutter, more to myself. When I look back up, both Six and Ella are staring at me.

"What? What do you mean?" Six asks, distracted from questioning Ella.

I blush, suddenly self-conscious of my paintings. "I, uh…" I stutter. "I painted you all in a cave. I dreamed about you," I say nervously. "I thought Ella was Eight. I think I got everybody else right, though,"

"You saw us in a dream and painted us?" Six says disbelievingly.

"Yes," I say, suddenly feeling defensive. "I can prove it. I've never seen Four, Five, or Nine, but I can tell you exactly what they look like."

"Do Four and Nine. We haven't met Five yet," Six says.

"Okay. Four has bright blue eyes, blond hair, and a permanent smile," I say, closing my eyes and picturing my cave. Six nods and I continue. "Nine is very muscular, tall, overconfident, with shaggy black hair and dark eyes," I breathe. "Am I right?" I ask, opening my eyes. Six has a shocked expression on her face, and Ella's eyes are glazed over. Six opens her mouth to respond, but at that moment a door opens.

"Missed me, sweetheart?" comes a deep, masculine voice. Soon, Nine, just as I described him, appears in the doorway. He doesn't see me or Ella yet, and talks to Six.

"Actually, we were just talking about you," I say. "You're Nine, right?" I ask, standing.

"How'd you know that, beautiful?" He asks, looking me up and down.

I blush, aware of how stupid this is going to sound. "I dreamt about you," I say. "A-and all the others, of course," I add quickly.

He smirks, and Six rolls her eyes. "She knew exactly what you and John looked like, before meeting you," she says.

"Nice," Nine whistles. "Is that a legacy? I'd like to know what pretty girls look like before meeting them," he says, winking. I blush and look away.

Ella takes the opportunity to introduce herself. "I'm Ella," she says, and Nine notices her for the first time.

Nine groans, shoulders sagging. "Guys, I thought we said no more Earthlings!"

Ella stiffens, but smiles all the same. "I'm not an 'Earthling'" she says, finger quoting. "I'm Number Ten,"

Nine freezes, eyes wide. "There is no Number Ten," he says slowly.

Six sighs, exasperated. "I'll explain later, when John gets here," she says, stopping more confusion. "Where is John, anyways? I thought he was with you?" she asks.

Nine gives a dramatic sigh. "Why does he get all the girls?" he whines, before calling out. "Johnny boy! Your girlfriend wants to see you!" he yells. I glance at Six in confusion, and she yet again rolls her eyes. She seems to do that a lot around Nine.

"Nine, for the millionth time!" he yells back, appearing in the doorway beside Nine. "I told you-" he stops as he sees me. "Hello," he says, smiling. "I'm John," he holds his hand out for me to shake.

"Marina," I say, shaking his hand. "Or Seven, of course."

"Pleasure," he says.

"I'm Ten," Ella says, coming to stand beside me. "Call me Ella,"

John's eyes are wide with disbelief. Then, he talks slowly, as if he has trouble processing what is happening. "Did you come on the second ship?"

Ella blinks. "Yes! How did you know that?"

"I had a vision of it," he responds simply.

Nine interrupts their conversation, apparently bored. "Where's Eight?" he asks, glancing over his shoulder.

"Taking a shower," John responds. "It's really dirty in the mountains. We thought we got here before you guys. Otherwise, I'm sure he would have been overjoyed to meet you guys."

The mention of Eight catches my attention. I don't know what he looks like. Maybe he is my soulmate! I try to calm down, not get my hopes up. I haven't told anyone about the voice in my head, because they'd think I was crazy.

Nine rolls his eyes, and we all go our separate ways. Six had given us a tour beforehand, so I knew where everyone was headed. Six and Nine headed to the Lecture Hall for training, Ella went to her new room, and John headed to the kitchen. I followed John, because I was hungry, but mainly to know more about Eight.

As I left, I heard Nine mutter something along the lines of 'Even the new girl. Damn you, Johnny.'

When we were alone in the kitchen, I sat in a chair by the counter, watching John fail at making pasta. "Do you want some help?" I asked softly.

"That would be great, thanks," he says sheepishly. I take over his cooking, asking him about Eight. "What does he look like?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the pot as I stir.

"He's, well, see for yourself." John says. I'm confused for a second until an unfamiliar, teasing voice penetrates my thoughts.

"Am I interrupting something?"

I turn, taking in Eight. He's tall, taller than Four, er, John, but shorter than Nine. Then again, Nine is _huge_. His black hair is dripping wet, which I assume is curly when dry, his eyes a beautiful emerald color, and a playful, teasing grin on his face. Looking away from his handsome face, I realize that he is shirtless, his muscles prominent under a glistening sheen of water.

I shake my head, aware that I was staring, blushing. "N-no," I stutter. He laughs, and I relax. He doesn't seem bent on teasing, like Nine, but he's also really easy-going.

"You know, I had to stop John here and Nine from beating each other up on the plane," he says, easing the tension.

"I'm still saying, he totally started it," John says. We both laugh at how childlike that sounds.

"I can't believe you guys haven't killed each other yet." Eight says, watching John grab some of my freshly made pasta.

John shakes his finger over his shoulder as he leaves, laughing. "We still need him. After the war, I'm going to pound him."

Eight laughs, turning back to me. "Sorry, I should probably introduce myself properly. I'm Eight." he says, holding his hand out.

"Seven. Call me Marina," I say, grasping his hand. I expect him to shake it, but instead he gently moves his hand so my hand is palm down, brings it up to his lips, and kisses the back of my hand.

 **Okay, this turned out to be longer than I was expecting it to be, so I'm going to split it into two (or more, maybe) parts, to be able to update. Sorry I didn't update on Monday, my WiFi was down. Hope you liked it! Leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5: Soulmates (Part 2)

**Marina**

Over the next few months, we all get to know each other better. I'm always thinking of _him,_ and who he could be. John, kind, typical blond-haired-blue-eyed? Or huge, punch-happy Nine? Secretly, I'm hoping it's playful, curly-haired Eight. I know, I shouldn't get my hopes up, because with my luck, it probably won't end up being him.

I sigh, sitting up. It's midnight, and everyone but me is sleeping, exhausted from training earlier today. I am too, but I simply can't seem to fall asleep. I walk out of my room, walking slowly down the hall to the roof. Except, I forget that it's the middle of winter, and the temperature is close to freezing. I shut the door quickly, shivering in my thin shirt. I walk back into the house, deciding to go to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, a groggy Eight appears in front of me. I yelp in surprise, falling backwards out of my chair, startling Eight in the process, causing him to fall backwards, catching himself, but burning his hand and forearm on a hot stovetop. He yells in pain, quickly pulling his hand away. I stand up, grabbing his uninjured hand to keep him steady.

"Oh my gods, Eight, I'm so sorry," I say, trying and failing to heal him. I need to focus.

He winces, then laughs. _Laughs._ He just got severely burned, and he _laughs._ "It's not your fault, don't worry about it. I should have checked if anyone was in here," he says.

He whistles as I finally succeed at healing him. "Thanks, Marina. Are you okay? You took a nasty fall out of that chair."

"I'm fine," I say quickly. "What are you doing up?" I ask.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep," he says, scratching the back of his neck. "You know, the usual," he says, grinning. Suddenly, my mind comes back to the situation, and I pull my hand away, blushing. He seems disappointed for a second, then quickly turns to the fridge to get some food. As he stares into the brightly lit interior of the refrigerator, he starts to hum, which slowly turns into singing.

" _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be…"_ he sings, turning back around with a plate in his hand. Oh. My. Lorien. It… it sounds exactly like… like _him._ He sees my shocked expression and freezes. "What? What's wrong?" he asks.

"N-nothing," I stutter, standing up. "I'm, just, I'm gonna go," I say, rushing out of the room.

Once in my room, I lie facedown on my bed. I groan. That was _so_ stupid. I just ran out of there like an idiot, not even explaining to Eight. He has the right to know. I sigh, sitting up. I'll tell him tomorrow. Or the day after. No later than that… I hope.

 _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree…_

I smile to myself, listening to Eight's voice in my head as I fall asleep.

 _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree…_

 **(:-LINE BREAK-:) (The few days later)**

I avoid Eight the past few days, plus this morning, not meeting his eyes.

"Alright, what's up with you two?" Nine asks, glancing between us as we sit on opposite ends of the long table. I push my food around with my fork, suddenly not hungry.

"Nothing," Eight says easily. He looks at me, curious. "Don't we have to do some training?" he asks, changing the topic.

Nine smirks, giving in all the same. "Okay. But I _will_ find out," he says, giving Eight a meaningful look. I decide to talk to John. I think he could help.

After training, I do as I planned and walk up to John. "John? Can I talk to you?" I ask, aware of Six's gaze. "Alone?" I add.

He smiles. "Sure, Marina." he responds. "Roof okay? It's burning in here,"

"Okay," I say as I follow him to the roof.

Once there, he sits down on the ledge. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

I wring my hands nervously. "Um, did your Cêpan, uh…"

"Hey, it's fine. We're friends, right? You don't need to be so nervous." he says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Right, sorry," I say, smiling sheepishly. "Did you Cêpan ever talk about soulmates?" I ask, staring at him.

"Soulmates?" he asks, brow furrowing.

"Yeah," I say. "Like, your one Loric love."

"Oh, yeah. Loads. I couldn't get him to shut up about it," he says, smiling at the memory of his Cêpan.

"Did he ever mention, um, hearing them? Like, singing in your head? Before you met them?" I ask. "Adel did,"

His gaze softens, probably remembering what I told them all about Adelina, how she never trained me. Even stopped believing in Lorien.

"Yeah," he says. "Why? Do you hear them in your head?"

"Yes," I whisper. "And I know who it is, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Is it Eight?" he asks, eyes wide and curious.

I look around quickly, making sure no one is eavesdropping. "Yes," I whisper again.

"I think you should tell him," he says.

I nod. "I thought so too. He has a right, you know? But how? What do I say? 'Hey, I'm your soulmate, too bad?'"

John laughs, not answering. "Tell him however you want to. I'm sure it'll be perfect."

"But what if he doesn't want me as his soulmate?" I whisper, staring at the city below.

"Marina," he says and I look up. "He loves you," he says.

"What? How do you know that?" I ask, eyes wide.

"Seriously? Do you not see how he looks at you? Especially these past few days, that you have been _avoiding him?"_ he accuses.

I smile guiltily, blushing. "I'll tell him today, then." I say, standing. "Thank you, John."

"No problem, Marina. Anytime." he says, and I can tell he means it. He would help anyone.

We walk back into the penthouse kitchen, where Eight, Six, and Ella are sitting. Six and Ella are too deep in conversation to notice us, but Eight looks up, something similar to anger in his eyes.

John notices and smirks. "Don't worry about it. She's all yours." I'm extremely confused by this point, but I do notice Eight flush and look away.

All throughout the day, I'm jumpy and nervous. I can't focus on anything. I decided earlier that I would tell him tonight, when everyone else is asleep.

After dinner, everyone heads to their room, except me. "Eight," I call. He turns, walking back towards me.

"Yeah?" he asks, leaning against the doorway.

"Can I talk to you? On the roof?" I ask nervously as he frowns.

"Sure, Marina. Is there something wrong?" he asks walking towards me.

"Fine," I say quickly, turning and walking towards the roof door.

Eight sighs, following me. "You know you can tell me anything, right? We're friends," he says and I suck in a breath. _Just friends?_

As we climb the stairs, he starts to sing.

" _Where they strung up a man_

 _They say who murdered three_

 _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be…"_

"Have you, uh, did Reynolds ever tell you about soulmates?" I say, interrupting him.

"Soulmates? Like, your one Loric love?"

"You know about it?" I ask excitedly. If he does this will be much easier to explain.

He smiles sheepishly, looking away. "He only mentioned it once. It was too painful for him to talk about. All he said was that he had one, back on Lorien." he says, sitting on the edge of the roof. "Whenever I would ask him about it, he'd get this distant look in his eyes and say 'You'll meet her someday, Eight. She's out there, waiting for you.'" he rolls his eyes, smiling sadly. "I don't know. He's probably wrong. I mean, what are the chances that my Loric love is one of you three is my soulmate? I mean, with my luck, I'll be the one left alone." he laughs.

I sit next to him, our shoulders touching. "Adelina told me that soulmates could here each other sing," I say suddenly.

He raises his eyebrows, surprised. "Really? I never heard that." he hesitates. "I've, uh, heard someone in my head. Once. It was a while ago," he says, looking away, toward the horizon.

We watch the sun slowly set for a while, enjoying each other's company, before I speak. "Me too," I whisper. I look down at the busy streets, nervous. I decide not to tell him directly, since I'll probably stutter and make a fool of myself.

" _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree_

 _Are you, are you_

 _Coming to the tree…"_

I sing softly, not looking away from the city below. I sense more than feel Eight tense up beside me, his breathing stopped. "You… it was you… all those years ago…" he pauses, apparently not able to think straight. "How… how long have you known?" he asks.

"A few days," I reply, looking up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Are you… mad at me?"

"Of course not. I totally understand. I mean, if our roles were reversed, it would be super hard to tell the girl I had a huge crush on-" he stopped, processing what he said. "Uh, um, I mean-" he stuttered, blushing furiously.

I turn his head towards me, pressing my lips to his softly. As I pull away, I flush from embarrassment. "I'm-I'm sor-" he cuts me off with another kiss.

"I love you," he breathes when we part.

Startled, I don't respond immediately. "I… I love you too,"

" _Where the dead man called out_

 _For his love to flee_

 _Strange things did happen here_

 _No stranger would it be_

 _If we met at midnight_

 _In the hanging tree…"_

 **And so finishes part 2 of soulmates. Like it? Love it? Leave a review! Hate it? Leave a review! Constructive criticism is appreciated! Anything is absolutely helpful! Thank you!**


	6. Chapter 6: New Weapon

**Yet another Navrina fanfic. I know, so many. If you guys get tired of Navrina, I can do others, like Jix, just let me know!**

 **THANK YOU FOR THE AMAZING AND ENCOURAGING REVIEWS! This is a sort of song fic, inspired by the song "Bleeding Out" by Imagine Dragons. Enjoy!**

 **P.S…. The ending was totally not what I planned, it just sorta popped into my head as I was writing it…. Tell me if you like it!**

 **Marina**

"Okay, guys, here's the plan," Nine said, smiling maniacally. "Marina and John will be the bait, out in the open." We are planning to ambush a group of Mogs that are getting too close to us, and Nine, Eight, and Six have the best abilities to surprise them. Well, Nine not so much, but you can't really use him as bait. He's huge.

"Alright," John surprisingly agrees with Nine's plan, much to Eight's dismay. "I'll protect them," John reassures him, seeing his expression.

"Besides, you can teleport us out if something happens," I say, leaning my head on his shoulder. He grins, wrapping his arm around my waist.

Nine rolls his eyes at our display of affection, focusing back on the plan. "Okay, so after the Mogs are stupid enough to attack fire boy and the ice princess," he says, gesturing to us as he talks. "We are going to surprise and destroy them."

"That's it? Even they could think of a better plan," Six mutters. "What was the point of this huge meeting?"

"Okay, to be honest, I was expecting it to be longer," Nine says, scratching the back of his neck.

"Me too," Eight whispers to me.

 **-_-_-_-_-_-_-_TIMESKIP_-_-_-_-_-_-_-**

Me and John 'sneak' through the forest, making as much noise as possible to draw attention. We reach the clearing, flaunting our legacies, not at all trying to conceal ourselves, standing in the middle of the circular field of grass. Soon enough, with the benefit of my night vision, I see Mogs surrounding us in the dark, dense forest.

"John," I whisper, pretending to be having a good time. That's our plan; we're pretending John and I are in love, or something like that. "They're surrounding us," I say, smiling and grabbing his hand, like one of those idiotic girls in high school. I make a big snowflake above us, displaying my 'unnatural' power.

"Great," he says, switching the hand holding mine and wrapping his arm around my waist. "Everything is going as planned," he says, smiling and shining his lumen at the snowflake causing it to explode in to snow. If I was watching myself with John, I'd believe our act. My smile drops slightly as I think of Eight. If he were doing this with some girl… I don't even know how he agreed to our plan. I dismiss the thoughts from my head. Thinking of Eight will make me stop, and this part is crucial. We need to make the Mogs think we're weak, stupid.

I see the Mog commander make a sign, and the Mogs start to close in. "Here they come," I say, smiling through my fear.

"Okay. after they're out in the open, they're goners," he says, pretending to pay no attention to the Mogs. I brush snow out of his hair softly, ignoring my hand shaking. He grabs my hand, sensing my fear. "Hey, it'll be alright," he says, but I can't help this new sense of foreboding. Something's going to happen, something bad.

"John, something's gonna happen," I say, voicing my concerns. "I can feel it."

"It'll be fine. It's alright to be scared, Marina. Just focus. We may need your healing," he says, comforting me while my feeling gets worse as the Mogs approach. "You'll get to spend all the time you want with Eight after this," he rubs my arm, relaxing me.

"Right. It'll be fine. We'll be fine." I say, more to myself. They're out in the open now, and we pretend as if we just notice them.

I gasp, stumbling back into John, which sends us both to the ground. Good. Make us seem helpless and stupid, easy to kill. We get up shakily, and yell at the Mogs.

"Please! Leave us alone! We didn't do anything!" I cry, John's voice joining mine.

 **Random Mog**

What idiots. How could two Lorics possibly think we wouldn't find them? I grin happily. Two easy Loric to kill. If I manage to kill one, maybe I'll get a promotion. Yes! That is a great idea! We surround them, and I push my way to the front.

"Please! Leave us alone! We didn't do anything!" the pathetic snowflake girl cries. I stare at her raising my sword. I'll kill her. She's getting on my nerves. We all charge at the same time, and chaos ensues. I see another girl appear - jet black hair and a dangerous expression is all I see of her before a monsterous yell draws my attention. A huge man is tearing apart anyone he comes across. I shiver. He is one I do not want a private session with. I charge towards the helpless snowflake girl, who is now not so helpless. She shoots spikes of ice everywhere, her back towards me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a huge beast, which looks like it could rival the height of the pitiful humans' Empire State Building.

I turn back towards the girl, still intent on killing her. I charge, refraining from yelling so she doesn't see me coming. I hear the beast roar, which sounds strangely like a human cry of sorrow and anger combined. I don't turn to look as I run the girl through with my sword. I look up at her face, expecting to see pain. That's my favorite part of killing them, the pain when I kill them. But the expression I see is not pain, nor is it the girl's face.

 **Eight**

I see the chaos below me, occasionally swiping my huge paw out, but I mostly concentrate on holding my form. Six is using her element control to mess with the Mogs. I watch Marina as she freezes and impales Mogs right, left and forward. But not _behind._ A Mog is approaching, and she doesn't see him.

My vision turns red with anger as I roar, shifting while teleporting in front of the blade. I don't feel the pain of the sword piercing my abdomen. All I feel is anger, and the Mog seems surprised to see me there, full of anger, instead of Marina. He seems scared for a moment, before he remembers he's stabbed me. He grins cruelly, and twists the blade. I scream in pain, and with one last burst of strength, I lift the Mog by the throat with telekinesis. He disintegrates, and the battle goes silent as I fall to my knees and black out.

 **Marina**

Suddenly, every Mog in the clearing rises several feet in the air, gasping for breath. They disintegrate and ash rains down. The battle field goes silent as everyone stops fighting, looking around to see who on Lorien had that much power. I hear a thud behind me, and turn to see Eight fall on his side, a sword sticking out of his body.

"Eight!" I yell, rushing to his side. I pull the sword out, turning him onto his back. His eyes are glassy, staring at the sky.

I kneel beside him, pressing my hands to his wound to stop the bleeding. "John! I need your help!" I yell, tears pouring down my face. "You aren't dying on me, Eight. You promised, remember? 'We'll have more days like this,' you said. You are _not_ dying, okay?" I whisper as Eight loses more blood.

I have to focus, to heal him. "John!" I yell again, crying harder.

John's footsteps pound next to me, and he kneels beside me, pressing his hands on top of mine.

"Marina, focus, you can do this," John says, but I barely hear him over my heart pounding in my ears.

I focus as much as I can, and I feel Eight's wound start to close as I sigh in relief. John stands, giving us much needed privacy as Eight's eyes focus, darting around.

"Whe- wha- what happened? Marina?" he asks, confused. He gasps, looking over my shoulder. "Mog! Marina, duck!" he yells, shoving air. I look over my shoulder, confused, and see Nine, with the same expression. "What the-? My legacies aren't working!" Eight says, diving over me towards Nine.

"Eight! That's Nine! Don't attack him!" I say, though I'm not really worried about Nine.

Nine catches Eight, but he put so much force into the jump they both go tumbling down to the floor. Eight snarls, whipping his head towards me. I stumble back in surprise. He looks like and animal - teeth bared, eyes wild. Worst of all, his previously beautiful emerald eyes are a glazed, dark, rotted green. His teeth seem sharp, dangerous, and blood drips from them.

"What the-?" John mutters, eyes wide, frozen in shock. Eight looks at each of us in turn, then looks back at Nine. Although his legacies aren't working, Nine can't seem to push him off. When Nine manages to kick Eight off, he runs away, real fear in his eyes. Eight lands on both feet and hands, like a dog. He stands, running after Nine.

"Little help, guys?!" Nine yells, snapping us all out of our trance.

"Eight! Stop!" I yell, getting his attention. "Eight, please," I say as he creeps closer to me. "This isn't you," I beg.

"This is him now," Eight says in a deep, evil voice that is not his own. "You like my new weapon? The first prototype was in the swords of the troops that attacked you," the voice says as Eight smiles like a rabid dog. "If all goes as planned, you shouldn't be able to stop him. He'll kill all of you!" Eight laughs maniacally, but doesn't attack.

"Shit," John says, and Eight's eyes flicker to him a second before he leaps toward him. He tackles him to the ground, punching him in the chest with a loud _crack,_ and John howls in pain.

"John!" Six cries, drawing Eight's attention to her. He snarls, jumping off John and running towards Six.

"Eight, no!" I yell, claiming his violent attention. I brace myself for his attack, closing my eyes. But it never comes. I open my eyes, and see Eight staring at me with his eyes narrowed, thinking. Then it dawns on me. "Guys, don't move," I say. "And don't say a word. He won't attack me,"

"M-Mar-rin-na?" Eight says in a horribly scratchy voice, but much more his own.

I want to cry in relief, but I don't. "Yes, Eight, it's me," I say softly, inching closer. When I'm within arms' reach, I hold my hand out, and Eight backs away, suspicious. "No, it's-" I begin to say before Nine forgets himself and yells at Eight.

"Oh, come on, man! She ain't gonna hurt you!" he immediately slaps a hand over his mouth, but it's too late. _Oh, shit._ Eight sprints toward him, the feral look in his eyes a thousand times stronger than before.

"Sorry, Marina," Nine says before punching Eight as hard as he can. Eight flies back, face still set in a snarl. When he lands, on his back, the force of Nine's punch drives him into the ground and he skids back, ripping up grass and creating a foot deep trench. He doesn't get up, and I run to heal him. By all rights, that should have broken his spine, and probably many more bones. When I get to him, he's laying on his back, eyes closed, face strangely peaceful.

I touch his arm, and his eyes fly open, still a disgusting green, but even murkier and darker than before. He leaps up, much too fast to be normal, even for us Loric. He snarls, yet again, and I'm struck by the sudden thought that by the end of the day, his throat will be totally raw. He runs towards Nine, again. He seems to really hate him in this strange spell.

None tries to hit him, just like last time, but Eight dodges and uses Nine's momentum to pull him by his still outstretched arm and flip him overhead. We all gape in shock, but also fearful awe at Eight's newfound power. Nine gets up, baiting Eight. "That all you got? Come on, come get me!" he says, and they begin to fight.

It soon turns into a fight resembling our hand-to-hand training, and instead of worrying for Nine, I start to worry for Eight. Nine is _unbeatable_ in hand-to-hand. Eight doesn't stand a _chance_. They continue fighting, and Eight is holding out longer than normal, even longer than Six. Eight hasn't even broken a sweat, whereas Nine is panting like crazy. Eight appears to get bored, and starts to move faster. _Punch, duck, kick, dodge, kick. Kick, punch, dodge, punch._ He starts landing more and more hits, and soon enough, Nine is on the ground, gasping for air as Eight's hand closes around his throat.

"Eight! Please!" I beg, but either he doesn't hear me or doesn't care. He continues choking Nine, leaning in close.

"That all you got?" Eight mocks.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see John sprinting towards the two of them. He tackles Eight, pinning him down.

 **John**

As I pin Eight down, I'm surprised at how much strength it takes. Whatever the Mogs did to him, it's turned him into some sort of super-Loric. In our training, I used to be able to beat him without much effort. Now, it's the opposite. Instead of struggling, he laughs. He laughs like he's gone crazy, and easily pushes me off.

"You want to try me, Johnny boy?" he says cruelly, and I flinch. In all the time I've known him, he has never once shown anger, much less cruelty. He gets up, and kicks me in my recently healed ribs. Suddenly, he's gone. I turn my head to see Marina and Eight rolling in the grass, each trying to end up on top. Eight, with his crazy new strength, succeeds. I expect him to attack her, but he doesn't, simply snarling at her, like an animal.

"Please, Eight," Marina begs, and he stops snarling, looking down at her in confusion. I imagine there will be bruises on her arms later. "You promised," she says, crying now. "You said you'd never hurt me," she says and Eight's hold on her loosens. "You said you'd never leave me," she whispers, and that seems to be the breaking point for Eight. He lets go entirely, and stands up. He looks at all of us, and presses both hands to his mouth.

"Oh my gods," he whispers, catching sight of me and Nine. "What have I done?"

"It wasn't your fault, Eight," Marina soothes, getting up. She lays a hand on his shoulder, and he recoils.

"No, no no no no…" he says frantically. "I'm dangerous. You need to lock me up, or get away," he says, holding his hands out in front of him and backing away.

"No, you're not dangerous, Eight," Six says. "Let's all just go back to the penthouse and talk, okay?" Eight stares at her, then each of us in turn.

"But… what if… _that_ happens again?" he asks shakily. "I could hurt you guys," he winces. "I already did," he adds in a whisper.

"Marina's right, Eight, it's wasn't your fault," I say. "Besides, you got some sick strength from that," I grin. "You even judo-flipped Nine," Eight relaxes, and smiles tentatively.

"We're your family, Eight," Marina cuts in. "We love you no matter what."

Eight, blinks, dumbfounded. He opens his mouth to say something, then promptly crashes to the floor in a dead faint. Marina gasps. Fresh blood soaks his shirt, the wound we healed appearing again.

"What the hell?!" Marina yells, kneeling beside Eight and healing him again. I come over to help, but she's done already. Eight's eyes flicker open, the disgusting green again consuming them.

"Oh no, not again," Marina whispers, closing her eyes. But unlike last time, Eight's eyes flicker, switching from rot-colored to emerald.

"Marina, look," I whisper. She opens her eyes, and I point to his. "That didn't happen last time," I say.

She begins to say something, but is cut off by Eight muttering. "Not… again…" he says, clenching his fists. "Mai… più…. Esci… dalla… mia… testa…!" he says.

"Since when does he know italian?" Six asks. I stare at her. "What? We lived in Italy for a while. Anyway, he said 'Never again. Get out of my head,'"

I turn back to Eight, who is now completely relaxed, eyes their normal color. "Well, it's gone for good," he says, putting his hands behind his head. "You guys just wanna stay here a while?" he asks, smiling.

"Absolutely," Marina responds, curling up next to him and putting her head on his chest. Eight looks content as he wraps an arm around her, the other playing with her hair.

"We'll meet you guys back at the penthouse," Six says, grabbing my hand. As we leave, though, I hear a bit of their conversation.

"I'm glad you're alright," Marina says.

"I'm glad I didn't hurt you," Eight says. "I love you too much to bear that."

 **Okay, short… um… what do you call it? Notice? That's it, a notice of sorts. I'm going to be posting on this story every two weeks, because I'm going to start a new one, not Lorien Legacies related, so…**

 **Sorry? It's going to be Percy Jackson-y related, so, if you're a fan, awesome! If not, sorry for the fewer updates.**

 **Review please? I'm running out of ideas!**


	7. Chapter 7: My World

**This is a sorta high-school mortal AU, with the Lorics having their names instead of numbers.**

 **I need ideas! Please review!**

 **To guest: I can do Stanrina, though I don't ship it, but if you'd like to give me a few more ideas on what you want, that would be helpful!**

 **Marina**

"Marina! Wake up! It's time to go! You don't want to be late for the first day of school, do you?!" my mother yells. I groan, sitting up. This is my first day of my last year at my high school, the same one I've spent the last two years in. I get dressed, pulling the outfit I had chosen last night over my head. I trudge to the bathroom, still half asleep.

After I finally eat breakfast, fully awake, I leave the house, dreading the two-mile walk to school. My high school is fairly small, with only about five hundred students. I have two friends - Maren, who is in the same grade as me, and Ella, Maren's younger sister. She's only two years younger, but she could pass easily for younger.

I arrive just in time, heading to my first class: art. Maren despises drawing or anything related, so I don't have this class with her. I, on the other hand, love painting. As I enter, I notice Charlie sitting at a desk. I resist the urge to groan. Charlie is our self-elected hottest kid in school, and he has asked nearly every girl in the school out. Every single one has denied. He sucks at everything, and I mean, everything. Not an exaggeration at all. Okay, maybe a little. He doesn't suck at failing.

Luckily, he hasn't asked me out yet, but I have a feeling that won't last long. I sit in the desk farthest from him, and ignore his presence. It worked pretty well until he sat next to me. I look away from him, trying to hint that I _do not_ want to talk to him.

"Hey," he says, and I look at him unwillingly.

"Hi," I respond, looking away again.

"To flustered to look me in the eye?" he teases and I glare at him. Thank the stars, someone interrupts.

"'Scuse me, that's my seat," I look up, spotting a handsome guy talking to Charlie. I look away quickly, watching the scene unfold.

"Well, too bad," Charlie smirks. "I'm here now," he says, like he has every right in the world to do so.

The boy's emerald eyes flare with anger, but other than that, he shows no emotions. "Don't care," he spits out, face twisted in anger for a second before the easy smile replaces it once again. "Move," he says, with a hint of annoyance.

The boy is obviously much stronger than Charlie, and he notices it. Charlie gulps, moving out of the seat slowly. "Don't think you're getting my girl," he hisses and leaves.

"Thank you," I whisper to the boy once Charlie is gone.

The boy sits, rolling his eyes, all anger gone. "I'm guessing you're not his 'girl,'" he says to me, and I laugh.

"You guess correctly," I say, and he smiles. "I'm Marina," I add, introducing myself.

"Joseph," he replies.

All throughout art we talk, ignoring the teacher. Then, when the bell rings, I'm disappointed. My next class is English, with Maren. Unfortunately, the rest of the day is a blur… all I can think about is Joseph.

 **WEEK OR TWO LATER**

The past few weeks, I've quickly developed a liking for Joseph. I think I have a crush on him. All I can do every day is think about him.

Suddenly, I'm shoved roughly from behind, and I fall to the floor, spilling my books and papers everywhere. Thank goodness it's lunch, or I would have been late to my next class.

"Well well. Lookie here," says my attacker. I sigh. Ever since I refused to go out with him, Ethan has been annoying me non-stop. "If it isn't the bookworm," he sneers. Usually, once he starts, Ethan doesn't leave until a bell rings. I spot Joseph walking by in a nearby hallway, and I want to get his attention, but he's too far. Luckily, Ethan's next comment does it for me.

"Study over the summer? Is that why you're so pale?" he laughs, his friends laughing with him. It isn't even that funny. Joseph turns, seeing me on the ground, and Ethan mocking me. His gaze locks with mine, and I mouth 'help.' Fortunately, he understands, walking casually over towards us.

Ethan spots Joseph and glares. "Get outta here, loser," he growls. "Unless you want to end up next to her."

Joseph's eyes glint dangerously. Then he smiles. "You wanna bet?" he asks, unconcerned.

My eyes widen. Nobody has ever gone against Ethan. Joseph would really fight Ethan for me? Ethan is one of the strongest kids in school. Joseph, compared to him, looks weak. But, then again, you never know.

Ethan snarls, taking a step forward. "Just a warning, kid. I'm faster than you think," says Joseph. Ethan rolls his eyes, and suddenly shoots his fist out. I gasp. But, unexpectedly, Joseph moved just a few inches to the side, causing Ethan to miss.

"You missed," he mocks, stepping back, away from me. Ethan throws out more punches, all of which Joseph either dodges or blocks, hardly moving at all. Suddenly, so fast it seems he teleported, Joseph is behind him, pushing him to the ground.

"You know, I was expecting more from the school bully," Joseph says. By now, quite a crowd has gathered, watching the exchange. Ethan moves to sweep Joseph's legs out from under him, but he steps out of range, smirking. Then, he rolls his eyes, walking back toward me. He kneels beside me, helping me pick up all my stuff.

"Why did you do that?" I ask quietly.

He looks at me, confused. "Do what?"

"Do that," I gesture to Ethan, who is now red with rage, and walking away.

He smiles. "Because I like you, and I don't like him. Is that enough explanation?"

I nod, extremely grateful. "Thank you," I say as the crowd disperses.

"No problem," he says, smiling. "Maybe I should stay around you more. You seem to have a charm for attracting annoyances," he teases.

"Does that mean you're an annoyance?" I laugh, and he joins me.

As we finish collecting my books and papers, we stand. "I hope not," he replies. "That'd mean you wouldn't want me around," his eyes glint.

I laugh. I seem to do that a lot around him. "Don't worry," I say, smiling. "You're not an annoyance. Am I one?" I ask. He laughs, taking it as a joke, but I really want an answer.

"I'm serious," I say, staring him in the eye. "Am I annoying?"

He stops laughing, dead serious for the first time I've ever seen. "Of course not," he says, grabbing my hand. Then he smiles. "Come on. Let's get to bio before the bell rings." The entire way there, he doesn't let go of my hand, and I'm secretly pleased. Unfortunately, we sit at the opposite sides of the room. When I pull my hand away, I think I see a look of disappointment flicker across his face before he leaves. As he takes his seat, he smiles at me, and my heart flutters. I sigh. I'm in deep for this boy.

The entire lesson, I can hardly focus. Every time I look up, Joseph smiles, and my heart melts. By the time the bell rings, I've gotten hardly any work done. On the way out, I nudge Joseph with my shoulder.

"You're going to have to help me with bio," I say, looking up at him.

"Me? Why?" he asks, confused.

"Because it's your fault I didn't get any work done."

"How is it my fault?" he smiles.

"Because you kept smiling so damn much," I laugh, and he grins. "Just like that."

"Well, then, you'll have to come over," he says, putting his hand on my back and steering me away from a huge crowd.

"Come over?" I ask, frowning.

"Yeah, to my house," he says. "Alright, see you later," he says, turning to go to his next class.

"Wait!" I call, but he's gone. I wonder if he really meant that. I continue to wonder as I walk down the hall to my next class, english, which I happen to have with Maren, and her new boyfriend, John.

"Hey, Marina," Maren says as her and John catch up to me, hand in hand. I wish I could have that with Jos- Stop. He's a friend, nothing more.

"Hey, Maren, John," I greet them.

"Who are you thinking about?" John teases. Over the last week, we've all become close.

I stare at him in shock, then look away. "N-No on-one," I stutter, blushing.

"Really?" Maren joins in the teasing. I glare at her.

"Is it Joseph?" John asks, still teasing.

I look at him curiously. "How'd you know that?" I ask before I slap my hand over my mouth. Damn. I just gave it away!

John laughs victoriously. "Ha ha! I knew it!" he says, drawing the attention of other students. "You know, he's my best friend," Right. I had forgotten about that. "It's actually annoying. The only thing he talks about is you. Yesterday, I asked him for the answer of one of those bio questions right? You know what he said? 'Oh, I don't know. I bet Marina would know,' he said. And he had the _stupidest_ expression on his face…" he trails off, laughing, but I'm actually interested.

"Really? He talks about me?" I ask, eyes wide.

John rolls his eyes. "Man, I cannot believe you guys aren't together yet," he says, opening a door. I was so distracted I didn't even notice we got to class.

 **Joseph (Eight)**

At the end of the day, I'm exhausted. I won't be able to do my homework, much less swim team practice. I sigh, walking to my car - a black Zenvo ST1 I got for my birthday - where I see John.

"Hey, John," I say, unlocking the door for him. "Where's Stan?" I ask.

"He's doing that tournament, remember? He left yesterday," he says, raising his eyebrows. "What's with you today? Ever since bio you've been acting weird," he says, getting in the car while I walk around the front.

I sigh. "It's Marina-" I begin, but John groans.

"Are you kidding me? Just ask her out already!" he says, startling me. I rev the engine, pulling out of the parking lot. I see Marina walking by with her friend, Maren, and I resist the urge to wave at her. If she sees me in this car, she'll think I'm a spoiled rich kid. She won't want anything to do with me. Unfortunately, John sees his girlfriend, and he lowers the window.

"Hey Maren, Marina!" he calls, waving. They wave back, and I try to make myself invisible. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.

"Hey, wait! John!" Maren calls as I move forward. I stop, pulling over. John opens the door and steps out, and I do the same. John and Maren talk, and Marina stands awkwardly to the side.

"Hey, Marina," I say. She turns to me, startled. Then she smiles.

"Hey, Joseph," she says, walking over. Her beautiful smile soon turns to an expression of shock. "Is this your car?!" she asks, taking a step back to admire it. I cringe inwardly. It's a beautiful car, and I love it, but everyone knows it's _so_ expensive. Like, really spoiled rich kid expensive.

"Yes," I say, looking away.

"Oh my goodness! It's beautiful!" she says, gently running her hand over the hood. Her hand stops beside mine, where it's resting on the hood next to the windshield. She notices the little bit of scar that's visible on the side of my hand. She frowns, gently lifting and turning my hand palm up, tracing the scar that cuts across the length of my hand. "What…" she trails off, pulling it closer to her face to see it. "What on Earth is this from?" she asks quietly.

I flinch. "I, uh, I used to be really clumsy. I dropped a knife once, and I tried to catch it." I say.

"You tried to catch it? Really?" she asks, letting go of my hand.

Instead of dropping my hand back to my side, I lace my fingers with hers. "Yeah," I say and she blushes, but she doesn't let go. "Say, Marina, are you busy this weekend?"

She smiles. "No,"

I rub the back of my neck nervously. It's now or never. "Doyouwanttogooutwithme?" I say quickly. She looks at me, confused. I take a deep breath, focusing on slowing down. "Do you want to go out with me?" I ask, looking away.

She squeezes my hand. I look up to see her smiling. "Absolutely," she says, and I smile more than I have in my entire life.

"Finally!" John says from beside me. _Beside me?_ I turn to look, and I see him lying across the roof of my car, and Maren trying not to laugh on the other side of the car.

"Get off my car!" I say teasingly, shoving him.

 **MONTHS LATER**

"Hey Marina," I say, leaning against the locker next to hers. These past few months, we've gotten closer and closer as we were dating. And, I admit, I am - and have been - in love with her from day one. But, I haven't told her that yet.

"Hey," she responds wearily.

I frown. "What's wrong?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her waist and planting a kiss against her hair. She leans into me, obviously tired.

"Ugh. I got hardly any sleep last night, and I have to go to the mall with Maren today. We have to pick out a gift for her little sister's birthday," she groans.

"Tell her you can go tomorrow. When's her birthday?" I ask, rubbing her back soothingly.

She sighs. "The birthday is tomorrow. And I can't not give her a gift, she's like my sister," she says, resting her head against my shoulder. I kiss her, a short kiss since the bell rings at that instant.

"I'd come with you," I tell her, lacing my fingers with hers. "But I don't think Maren would want me too. And, I need to go to this practice," I add. "Alright, I'll see you in health," I say, kissing the top of her head. In the halls, I meet up with John, who elbows me.

"So?" he asks like a giddy child. "Did you decide what you're going to get her?" I sigh. John has been bothering me about this for the past month, ever since I told him I was going to buy something for Marina to celebrate our six-month anniversary. I don't know if she's that kind of girl yet, but I'm trying to show how much I love her.

"Not yet," I say. I'm going to the store today, to see if I can find something.

 **Marina**

After class, I meet up with Maren at John's car. John let her borrow it for today, after a pair of 'puppy-dog-eyes,' according to John. It's not that new, but Maren had to get hers fixed. Engine wouldn't start or something.

"Ready?" she asks, as energetic as a third-grade child on a sugar high.

I groan. "Could we stop by Starbucks first? I need coffee," I beg. Maren relents, pulling over.

"Fine, but you're buying," she says and I grin. After we get coffee, we head over to the mall. "Alright, what do you think Ella would like for her birthday?"

I groan. The caffeine hasn't kicked in yet. "I don't know. How about we just look around a while?" I say. Maren agrees, and we spend an hour looking in multiple shops I can't remember the names of.

First, we find a cute little shop with multiple little toys. But, I honestly don't think the eleven-year-old Ella would want a doll. The next shop has a bunch of accessories for pre-teens. I spotted a cute silver handbag, and Maren loved it, but still she had some doubts. Next we went to a jewelry store, where Maren found a beautiful silver bracelet, with embedded blue stones, which almost look like they're glowing. It matches perfectly with the handbag. Maren buys that, and we decide that I'll give her the handbag.

Joseph texts me, saying he bought a book for Ella, and he says it's called 'Lorien Legacies,' or something. No, wait, the book was 'I Am Number Four,' the series was 'Lorien Legacies.' He asked me if I could give it to her for him, since he'll be away. We head back to the store with the handbag, and I buy it, then we buy wrapping paper - a pretty teal with baby blue stripes - at the store next door.

As we walk back through the mall to get to the car, I peer into all the stores we pass by. There are not many interesting ones, most are filled with clothing or children's toys. We exit the mall, Maren texting John as we exit. She looks up briefly as we begin to cross the street. She focuses back on the screen, a dreamy smile on her face. I've never seen that look on her face. I look away, watching the traffic.

I gasp. "Maren, watch out!" I scream, shoving her out of the way as a car comes screeching out of nowhere.

 **Joseph**

 _Ring… ring…_

My phone rings in my pocket, I sigh and answer it as I step out of the car. "Y'ello?" I say, walking towards the store.

"J-Jos-seph, I-I'm s-so s-sorry," Maren sobs.

I'm alert at once. "What? What happened?" I practically yell into the phone. "Is it Marina?"

Maren sobs again. "You need to get to the hospital, now," she says, still crying.

"Alright, I'm coming," I say, all nerves as I start the car. I speed down the abandoned road, going nearly eighty miles per hour. "What happened?" I ask as soon as Maren's crying dies down. She starts crying again. "Maren!" I yell, my speed increasing. "Get control of yourself! What happened?!" I scream. It must have something to do with Marina. There's no other reason that Maren would call me.

"M-Marina," she gasps. "Sh-She got hit by a c-car," she manages before she falls into hysterics again.

Suddenly, it's like everything just died inside me. "Call John," I say, hanging up. My speed reaches one hundred. Thankfully, the highway is deserted, and there's nobody to stop me. I reach the hospital in a matter of minutes, and I sprint to the doors. I push past people until I find a nurse, her back facing me. I turn her around, and she almost falls, and I steady her.

I ignore her angry expression, and force her to pay attention to me. "Marina, she came in recently. Where is she?" I demand, and her expression turns to one of sympathy.

"Room 78," she says, and I practically run people over to get to the elevator. All are busy, so I run to the stairs. I have to see Marina _right now. She's alright, she'll be fine,_ I think over and over again as I run up the stairs two at a time. I race down the hall, avoiding doctors, patients, and medical carts.

I burst into room 78, looking around frantically. I see Maren, crying, again, with John's arms wrapped around her and her head tucked into the crook of his neck, her body shaking with sobs. John has a look of sadness and sympathy on his face as he spots me. I look away, spotting Marina.

She's lying on a hospital bed, multiple tubes stuck into her skin. Her face is peaceful, contradicting her sickly pale appearance. Her body up to her neck covered in a thin blanket, and I hold back a sob. I can see through the blanket that her right arm is in a sling, her left leg is in a cast, and her other ankle is wrapped in a bandage. Most obviously of all, her head is wrapped in a bandage that is stained slightly red. I kneel down and press my forehead against her head, then press a shaky kiss to her head as tears begin to flow down my face. I feel a hand against my shoulder, but I don't really care. I sob into her blankets, then press a kiss to her cheek.

"I love you," I whisper shakily.

"Joseph, I-" Maren begins, and I turn to her, a glare on my face. I know I shouldn't be mad at her, but I can't help it. I'd be mad at anyone right now. If I ever meet the man who hit her, he'll regret ever getting a driving license in the first place. Surprisingly, Maren looks away and takes a step back. "I-I, nevermind," she whispers.

I sigh. "No, I'm sorry, Maren, I shouldn't be mad at you," I say, turning back to Marina. A tear rolls down my cheek as I listen to the monotone _beep_ of her heart monitor. I grab her hand, pressing the back of it to my lips. "Please wake up," I beg.

Somebody brings a chair beside me, and I sit, never letting go of her hand. I lay my head on her bed, pressing against her thigh. Eventually, I fall asleep, and I dream.

 _All around me, there's fog. Dense, unbreakable fog. I can hardly see my hand in front of my face, yet, I can see the tops of huge trees._

" _Run! Run! Please, run!"_

 _I look around, trying to find the source of the voice._

" _Run!"_

 _The fog clears, and I see Marina. She's chained to the floor, bleeding, crying._

" _Run!" she screams, pulling against the chains. "Run! Get out of here, Joseph!"_

I jerk awake, nearly falling out of the chair. I look around, confused until I remember where I am. Maren is sitting on a chair by the door, staring at me. I sigh, looking back at Marina. The rest of the night, I stay awake, terrified that I'll see Marina like that again. Every few minutes, I press a kiss against her head, hair, cheek, hand, anywhere.

 **LATER**

I (unfortunately) have to go to school, since my father and step mother don't give a crap about my comatose girlfriend. Usually, I would cook dinner, but I'm with Marina so much I get home too late. I trudge through the halls, running on very little sleep. I hardly ever have time to do homework, and every week is a continuous blur. It's been three months since Marina got hit, and the doctors can't figure out why she won't wake up.

At the end of the day, I run out of school as fast as humanly possible - sometimes even ditching seventh period. I drive at the speed limit of whatever road I take towards the hospital. By now, I bet all the staff know who I am and who I come to see. Nearly all of them send me sympathetic smiles, clearing a path for me. Each day, before I get to the hospital, I stop and buy a bouquet of flowers, different each day. Today, it's carnations and peonies.

I walk into Marina's room, only to see her thrashing and screaming. I haven't seen Maren for days, but she's here, holding Marina down until a few nurses come in. They hold her down, and Maren spots me as I walk in slowly.

"Wh… what's happening?" I ask, eyes wide with shock. I stare at her, disbelieving. She's thrashing against the doctors' hold, screaming, her eyes closed.

"They think it's PTSD, or something. I think she has nightmares. We've tried everything, nothing will calm her down," she says, staring sadly at Marina.

I'm frozen with shock while Maren speaks, and as soon as she finishes I push through the nurses and doctors, standing by Marina's head. Slowly, I place my hands on the sides of her faces. I don't know what I expected, maybe for her to stop, but not this. She pulls away, seemingly shocked. I pull back, but I have to try again. I kneel beside her.

"Marina, Marina, calm down, it's alright," I whisper. She stops screaming, tilting her head to her me better. "That's right. You're okay, Marina," I whisper again. Tears stream down her face as she relaxes back into sleep. I grab her hand, refusing to leave her side any time soon.

"I love you, Marina," I whisper once all the staff are gone. "I love you so much. Please wake up," I beg, bending my head down. "You're my world, you know that? I can't live without you, Marina. Please, wake up soon."

" _Run away, boy. Leave, now. This is not for you. This is for her. Get out of here."_

 _The voice is evil, and I don't know where it's coming from. I'm in the same foggy landscape as last time, except this time Marina isn't screaming at me to run. I turn in a circle, feeling a strange sense of evil from my right._

" _Yes, go to the left, boy," The voice says, with a new strange edge to it. I ignore the sense of fear and turn towards the evil feeling. I walk forward, and the voice growls._

" _Stupid boy, I told you to leave," it says with a horrible new tone. I break into a sprint, and I see a silhouette through the fog. Suddenly, I feel an invisible force pushing against me. I force myself to keep walking, struggling closer to the person. As I get closer, I notice the person is a girl, who is apparently unconscious. When I'm within a few yards of her, she lifts her head, and I freeze. It's Marina. Suddenly, everything comes into high definition. I see multiple cuts across her face, arms, legs, and torso._

 _She sobs. "Run, Joseph! Get out of here! Wake up! WAKE UP! He can't hurt you if you're awake!" she screams, pulling against chains that seem to have materialised out of nowhere. "He can't hurt you if you're awake…" she whispers, trailing off. The fog closes in, blocking Marina from view. I stumble forward, but she's gone. Instead, I fall into an endless abyss filled with fog._

I jerk awake, just like last time. This time though, it's early in the morning and I have to get to school. I sigh, and pass Marina's mother in the hall. Every week, she takes a day off to be with Marina. It's four in the morning, and I have time to get home and take a shower.

I drive slowly, not happy to go back to an unhappy house. When I get there, it's four-thirty, and both my father and 'beloved step-mother' are sleeping. I creep in silently, but, much to my disdain, our house is _really_ old, so it wakes up my step-mother.

"What the hell were you doing out so late, boy?" she yells, not at all caring if she wakes my father. But I know she won't wake him, thank goodness. He'd blame me for being the reason of waking him.

"Doesn't matter to you, Lindsey," I mumble, looking down, but unfortunately loud enough for her to hear. She painfully pulls my head up by my hair, spitting in my face.

"What did you say, you ungrateful brat?" she hisses, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing, ma'am," I say through my gritted teeth. "I was at the hospital, and I lost track of time."

She rolls her eyes, uninterested. "Oh, you were visiting that girl again, weren't you? Martinas, or something?"

"Yes ma'am," I mutter, not bothering to correct her.

My father walks downstairs slowly. "What in hell is all the commotion about? Why are we awake at-" he glances the clock. "Five in the morning?"

"Your stupid 'love-stricken' boy was visiting his 'girlfriend,' again. You should really control him, Harold," I flinch, and Lindsey rolls her eyes, walking to stand by his side. She runs her hand down his arm, and I try not to let my disgust show. She has almost complete control over him.

"I'm gonna take a shower," I say, turning to go to my room.

"You better make breakfast after," my dad says, but I don't turn. "We'll be busy," he says, voice husky. Lindsey giggles, and I gag.

 **TIME SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP3**

 _Ring… ring… ring…_

"John, answer your damn phone," I growl, staring at the road.

"Geez, sorry Joseph," John says, fishing his phone out of his pocket. "Hello? Maren?" there's a muffled response, and John smiles. "Hey, love," a pause. "Yeah, he's with me." another pause. John's face falls. "Sure, be right there," he says, hanging up. "We have to get to the hospital. Something about Marina. Maren was crying, she didn't tell me why, just that we have to get there ASAP."

I don't know how to react, so I floor the gas. I drive, and we sit in silence. As soon as I get to the hospital, I run through the door, John beside me. I run up to Marina's room, faster than John, who took the elevator. I let my hand rest on the handle of her door, hesitating, and that's all the time John needs to catch up to me.

"Hey, she'll be fine, okay?" he says, laying a hand on my shoulder. I nod as tears spring into my eyes, and in the time it takes for me to gather my courage, Maren walks out.

Tears stain her face, more than the day Marina got hit. Her face is expressionless. She looks at me, revealing nothing. "You… you should go in there," she says, and turns and walks into John's open arms. They walk to sit by the chairs, giving me my privacy. I suck in a breath, pushing the door open silently. On the bed lies Marina, same as ever, still and with her eyes closed. No, that's not right. She looks paler than before, but her breathing is easier.

"Marina?" I say hopefully, sitting by her side and clasping her hand with my own. Over the entire time, she's become frailer and thinner. Her hand in mine looks so small, like I could crush it easily.

There's no reaction from Marina. I press my head to her sheets, letting the tears roll down my cheeks. Suddenly, I feel a hand running through my hair, and I look up. Marina is looking up at me, smiling.

"I missed you," I whisper, crying. I move towards her, kissing her forehead. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too. Now, come here and give me a real kiss," she says, sitting up. I'm surprised that she already has so much energy, but I'm too happy to be concerned. "Come on, please," she begs. "I missed you for so long. I don't want to waste any more time," she adds, giving me puppy dog eyes. I laugh, but oblige.

And, let me tell you, that was the best kiss I've had. Ever.


	8. Chapter 8: AN

**So... obviously not a chapter, I'm sorry, but I wanted to tell you something: I may not be updating until April 16, because I have this big science project due. I'm really sorry!**

 **I know someone already asked for an update on one of my stories, and I promise I will update as much as possible and as soon as possible.**

 **Thank you to all of those who review and please don't give up on me yet! I hope you guys can forgive me. I promise I will update consistently every week after April 16, or maybe sooner.**

 **I'm really sorry again.**

 **Give me ideas! I hope you all have a wonderful day!**


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